Angela,
Those are really beautiful!! I've never seen an h. straitum picture with the red eye like yours..maybe it's a hybrid of h. straitum. Whatever it is I think I like it better than those without the red eye! Does your neighbor ever let hers set seeds? If so, and you were able to get a few pods, I would like to be on the list to receive a few seeds!! I'm sure someone who knows species much better than I will be able to give you a more accurate ID..very lovely indeed...

Donna

Thanks Donna! My neighbor doesn't let theirs set seed, but I plan to let mine set seeds if they can. I will certainly share seeds with you if any take.

Angela

I'm not even going to venture proposing an id, LOL, but I did want to see they're beautiful! Thanks so much for sharing them with us, they're really fun to see. It's nice you and your neighbor are so generous! Thanks for the eye candy. I'm looking forward to hearing what folks say about an ID. Great stuff! Thanks again! Grant

Come on you guys, I'm waiting for an ID too!! Where are all the experts when you need them??

There is a form of H. striatum with a red eye, it's possible it may be that variety.

Thanks!

Thanks for the kind words Grant.

Josh, thanks for the great information! I didn't know that there was a variant of striatum with a red eye. Neat!

So do you think these would then have a good chance of coming true to type if I can get them to set seed? That would be really cool.

Also, do species require pollination to set seed? Reason I ask is I had one get knocked over and the stem broke just before its bloom opened. I brought it inside and put it in a vase of water, and it was developed enough to open so I could enjoy it. I got busy and left it sitting there for a bit after it closed, and it seems to be developing a seed pod! I did not make any attempt to pollinate it...but now I'm letting it continue to sit there as an experiment.

The color breaking in the flower of this species is indicative of virus sadly, IF it is true species it will come true from seed and provide virus free.

It's possible it's producing seed inside your home but that doesn't mean it wasn't pollinated, a slight movement of air can accomplish that :)

I hope you get seed! Good Luck!!!

Thanks Josh. Can you explain further what the "color breaking" is? Which part of the bloom are you looking at?

I'll have to read up on hippi virus...most importantly, how does it spread?

Angela

Angela,

The third picture down if you look at the actual flower you'll see white streaks in between the "veins", look towards the bottom where it's especially worse. H. striatum or the Hippeastrum species in the orange clade are especially susceptible to show the symptoms of virus in their flowers. We just had a conversation about this through the International Bulb Society.

Virus spreads in many ways but primarily through sucking or chewing insects.

Josh

Thanks Josh for pointing out what to look for. After reading your description, I went out and inspected the flowers. Only the ones closest to the one in that 3rd picture show any discoloration. Most of the white spots in the other photos are actually light sparkle. I have a hard time getting my camera to light meter reasonably in high contrast situations.

One of the things I've learned about gardening in FL is that there is no such thing as "disease free" gardening. There are so many insects & fungal diseases here that gardening is more about disease management - keeping the bad stuff at bay...a continual battle.

Glad to know that seeds can provide virus free plants!

Angela

I was able to get a number of seed pods to ripen - hurray! It seems much easier to get seeds to ripen on in ground plants than potted ones. I have had a 100% failure rate with potted seed pods setting. But about 50% success on outdoor plants.